The Big Hype Up

April 01, 1999

The Big Hype Up

Recently we received a letter from a kid asking if we could help find his brother a sponsor for his birthday. The plea was so selfless and innocent, not only did it win the free Letters snowboard last month (which he gave to his bro), we decided to give his brother a Hype Up.

You might wonder why we think this kid deserves to be hyped up. Are we just a bunch of bleeding hearts? Shouldn’t we be writing about someone who was at least popular once?

Halfway through a response to Trevor explaining the current sponsor-starved state of the industry, the standard methods of rising through the ranks of The Machine, and a bunch of other crap, we remembered something-we work at TransWorld. We can do whatever the hell we want. Trevor’s letter is a reminder that you don’t have to be a famous pro to be someone’s idol. If that makes us sissies … tough.

Because We Can

Ian Gill

My brother and friend, Ian Gill, has been snowboarding and skateboarding for about six years. Ian has been my idol as far back as I can remember and always will be. Ian taught me how to snowboard and skateboard, and despite all of his broken bones and surgeries, he has remained true to his sports and his heart.

I hope you get some sponsors some time soon, Ian. I can’t think of anyone who deserves this section more!-Trevor Gill

I have had the privilege of having Ian as my best friend for the last six years. Ian has the smoothest style and finesse in skating and boarding of anyone I have ever seen. He lands everything (he wouldn’t settle for less). He is a great boarder, but more importantly a great friend. Props to you, Ian.-Nate Stone

I’ve never met or heard of Ian before, but he sounds pretty cool. He can have my sponsor.-Kevin Jones

Caption:

Note to aspiring photographers: except for in this one very special case, you must always have a point of reference (jump takeoff and/or landing) in the frame of your picture-otherwise no one knows how big you went. We’re sure Ian’s going huge, though. Arizona Snowbowl. Photo: Ian’s